


And the Ballad of Bermuda

by LittleLadyBigDreamer



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Adventure, Boys Day Out, Drama, F/M, Fluff, Momma Baird being Momma Baird, Mythology - Freeform, Romance, Team as Family, slight angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-25
Updated: 2016-07-25
Packaged: 2018-07-18 04:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 9,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7299544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleLadyBigDreamer/pseuds/LittleLadyBigDreamer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A new mission requires the boys to go off to Bermuda alone, leaving their Guardian less than happy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Plan

**Author's Note:**

> So I knew for a long time I wanted to use this particular storyline/these creatures of mythology in a fic. I also needed a bit of angst to go with the fluff and so once I knew what I wanted from this fic it kind of wrote itself. I tend to stay away from too much Librarianing and action plots because I don't want to get facts wrong but I really wanted to write this. I did a fair bit of research before writing it (including using a mythology book given to me by my best friend for my birthday which is amazing, thanks Kez) but because it is mythology there isn't concrete information, but in a way that gave me some leeway (also #BecauseMagic). Anyway the point I'm trying to make is I've tried as much as possible to stick to the facts so I hope it all makes sense and you like it :) I've written about 90% of it so I'll try to update regularly. Happy reading!

"She's not gonna be happy," Flynn sang to Jenkins.

"I know but-"

"Who is she and why isn't she happy?" Eve asked as she entered the Annex with Cassandra, both their hands overloaded with coffee cups and takeout boxes. 

Flynn spun around and gave a nervous laugh as Eve's gaze fell upon him. "Hey, hi," he stammered as the girls tried to lay everything down on the centre desk, amongst the mounds of books that were already there. "Um, so we- we have a new mission."

"Great," Eve replied, "what is it?"

"Uh...well...you know, I think Jenkins can explain it better," Flynn mumbled, turning to look at a startled Jenkins. Eve furrowed her eyebrows at him. Flynn admitting someone was better at something than him? Now she was suspicious. She turned to Jenkins and looked at him expectantly. 

"Uh, actually," Jenkins began, "I think maybe with some aspects Mr Stone might be able to explain it better." Eve now noticed that both Jacob and Ezekiel had been standing quietly, both looking as shifty as the other two. 

Stone was now wearing a slight look of terror, having been put on the spot. "What? No I- I don't think actually uh..."

"Okay, somebody tell us what is going on!" Eve exclaimed. All four men exchanged pointed looks as though each was expecting the other to volunteer an answer.

Finally Jenkins let out a sigh and turned back to speak to the two women. "There has been some unusual activity around the Bermuda Triangle."

"It's the Bermuda Triangle," Cassandra said with slight confusion, "isn't there always unusual activity?"

"Well yes, but this is stronger. It is nothing to do with currents or weather patterns, in fact the weather is perfect that's why so many ships are sailing that way, they don't realise until they get there it is the exact opposite. There is increased _magical_  activity, people are going missing."

"Oh," Cassandra squeaked.

"Okay," said Baird. "Well you guys seem to have made a plan," she nodded to the books and maps scattered across the desk, "so just fill us in and we'll head out. But maybe give us a run down on the actual threat so we know exactly what we're dealing with-"

"Eve," Flynn tried to cut in.

"No, I know you want to get out there as soon as you can but it's safer if we all know where we stand-"

"You're not coming with us!" Ezekiel suddenly blurted out, earning annoyed looks from the other men. "What? None of you were saying it," he protested. 

"What are you talking about?" Eve asked. "Why would we not be coming with you?" 

"There are only a few of us that can go," Flynn softly tried to explain. 

"What? Is it like a numbers thing 'cause if so one of you can stay and I'll go, there's no way I'm letting you go somewhere that dangerous without me, any of you."

Flynn took a few steps closer to Eve and took her hands in hers. "Look, it's- it's more of a guy thing."

Eve immediately pulled her hands from his and Flynn saw a heavy frown set between her eyebrows. "So you're putting yourselves at risk, going to a place that is known to be dangerous, just so you can have a boys day out?!"

"Well, no, that's not exactly- um, I mean- what I mean is-"

"Sirens," Jake called out in an attempt to assist a bumbling Flynn. "There are Sirens there."

This time it was Cassandra's turn to frown. "What? As in the hypno-lady mermaid people?" 

Stone nodded. "Yeah, they've settled themselves there and they're coaxing ships to come their way, then taking all the men," he explained. "They're not so hot about women," he directed to Eve.

"So I'll hide," she shrugged. "I'll stay away and be quiet and come out to help you get rid of them."

"No," Flynn said softly, shaking his head. "It doesn't work like that. They're very intelligent creatures, they can sense women as well as they can men, it'll just scare them off."

"It's the only way to draw them out Colonel," Jenkins chipped in. 

"Oh and you're all okay with being bait?" Eve almost shouted at the other three men, who all stared at her, unsure of how to continue. "No, you know what, there's gotta be a better way to do this? If men are more susceptible to them surely that just makes it _less_ likely that your plan is going to work and _more_ likely you're all gonna get yourselves killed?"

"Not if we know what's coming, which we will. We'll be prepared for them," Flynn explained. 

"You don't know that for sure! Have you ever faced them before, hmm? Any of you?" She glanced between Jake, Flynn and Ezekiel, all of whom shook their heads meekly. 

"I think it could work," Cassandra piped up. "I- I mean, it makes sense."

Baird shot her a look as though she'd just been betrayed by the only ally she thought she had. "Am I the only one concerned about the fact that this could go horribly wrong?!" she responded with a huff. "That you could all get sucked in by them and..."

Flynn looked back at the other guys. "Give us a second," he mumbled to them before turning back to Eve, taking her hand and leading her out to the corridor. 

* * *

"I don't like this Flynn," she said before he had a chance to speak. "I don't like it one bit."

"I know you don't but it'll be okay, _we'll_ be okay."

"Okay?! Flynn, you're putting yourselves in the line of fire, you're practically offering yourselves up on a plate, so forgive me for not believing you when you say it's going to be okay."

"Well maybe not okay, but we can do this. We even have a plan," he grinned. "Come on Eve, we're all good at this job, we can do this."

"It's not your ability that worries me, it's that it's already a crazy dangerous place and there are going to be crazy dangerous women there, beautiful, mystical being kind of women."

Flynn couldn't help but smile at her confession. "Are you jealous?"

"No!" she insisted. "Wait, why? Should I be?"

"No of course not," Flynn shook his head, still smiling. "I have everything I could ever want right here." He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed the back of it. Eve smiled warmly at him, the glint in her eyes not escaping Flynn. "Eve, I know this scares you but it's the only way we can stop them. There are already at least fifty men missing. Sirens' magic is only powerful so long as they exist. If we get rid of them the spells will be reversed and we can send all those guys back home." 

The way he phrased it made Eve realise that he understood just how important such an outcome was to her. She sighed in relent before wrapping her arms around him and burrowing her head into his neck. "Promise me you'll be careful," she whispered, her breath warm against his skin. 

"I promise," he replied, his own arms slipping around her waist, holding her close. 

"I mean it," she mumbled. "Don't do anything stupid, no playing the hero."

"Says you. You look out for us every day, if need be on this trip, I'll do it for those guys."

"It's not a vacation Flynn."

"Not even with the beautiful women?" he teased.

Eve lightly smacked his shoulder. "That's not funny."

"Kidding," he chuckled. 

 

Eve pulled away from him and leaned back against his arms, her own still hung around him, and their gazes locked together, each of them taking the other in. As though a silent message had passed between them Flynn moved to cup her cheek and pulled her towards him, capturing her lips between his own. She melted into him immediately, her arms tightening around him, pressing their bodies together as her soft lips delicately glided over his. With his hand returning to her waist as the heat rose between them, Flynn finally pulled away but leaned his forehead against Eve's. Their breaths mingled as the air returned to their lungs, and Eve's eyes flickered open to meet Flynn's.

"This is where we had our first kiss," she murmured, her nose brushing against his. "Please don't let it be where we have our last." 

"I won't," Flynn promised, her words tugging on his heart. "I want to kiss you when I come back from this mission, from every mission. I want to kiss you _before_ every mission, and when we're on a mission together. I want to kiss you every morning and every night, in front of the others and between the stacks of the Library when we're hiding from them all. I want to kiss you at the grocery store and in the middle of an argument, over dinner at a fancy restaurant where neither of us really likes the food, and under the stars on a warm night. More than that, I _intend_ to kiss you for a very long time. Okay?"

Eve stared at him in disbelief, the image of him blurring slightly as tears welled in her eyes. "Okay," she whispered back.

Flynn brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes and gave her a small smile. "Come on, we'd better head back in there, they're waiting on us." Eve nodded and hastily wiped her eyes before clutching the hand he was holding out to her and following him back to the main room of the Annex. 

* * *

"We'll be in contact with them as much as possible," Jenkins said to Eve as she and Flynn entered the room. She nodded in acknowledgment, not quite ready to talk since Flynn's movie-worthy speech had caused her emotions to get caught in her throat.

"So what's the master plan you all have?" Cassie asked. Though she was clearly supportive of the idea Eve could tell from her voice Cassandra was just as worried as she was. 

"Well," Flynn began as he hovered close by Eve, their arms brushing against one another. "Jenkins has got us a ship." 

At this both Eve and Cassandra gave the older man questioning looks. "Old friend," he said simply as though it was a complete explanation. "The door will lead them straight onto the deck so there are no awkward questions at the port-" He was cut off when Flynn cleared his throat pointedly, clearly slightly miffed at having his explanation interrupted. "Sorry, sorry," Jenkins apologised. "You were saying."

"Thank you," Flynn nodded to him. "So, we will sail to the area where-"

"Do you even know how the sail?" Eve asked, her concern allowing her to raise her voice once more. 

Flynn scrunched up his face and tilted his head. "I've dabbled. There was a pirate job one time." Ignoring Eve's questioning eyebrow raise, he continued. "We'll sail to here," he pointed to a spot on one of the maps, "with guidance from Cassandra and Jenkins. Then once we get to our singing friends we just have to avoid them."

"Right and how exactly are you going to do that?" Eve asked, still not liking the fact that she couldn't be of more use. Flynn heartily pointed to Jake. 

"I can play guitar," Stone informed Eve, who had followed Flynn's gaze and stared at Jake expectantly. 

"Uh, congratulations, that's great. How exactly is that relevant?" she asked.

"Oh, well accordin' to Greek mythology, when Jason and the Argonauts got caught by the Sirens, Jason got one of his buddies to play a song louder than that of the Sirens. The guy played a lyre and we have one of those. I mean it's not exactly the same but I can still do it."

"So you're playing the role of..."

"Orpheus," Flynn assisted her. 

"Yeah, him," Eve said. Jake nodded and noted that her frown didn't disappear. 

"So then what?" Cassandra asked.

"The music will be louder and hopefully better than their song..." Flynn replied, earning a glare from Jake.

"Hopefully?" he muttered, apparently somewhat offended at Flynn's lack of faith in his talents.

"...and we'll be able to ignore them," Flynn continued.

"Then we get the hell out of there," Ezekiel added. "Fun right?"

"And how will we know where you are?" Eve asked.

"Radio," said Jenkins, nodded to a couple of black objects on the desk in front of him. "The connection should be stronger than any cellular device given the location, and there is a tracker in one of them too. 

"Well, I guess you've got it all sorted," Eve said quietly, turning to Flynn. He nodded and discreetly took hold of her hand once more, giving it a quick squeeze. Their intimate moment was disrupted by Cassandra flinging her arms around Flynn. Slightly startled, Flynn took a moment before hugging her back. "We'll be back in no time," he reassured her with a small smile. She returned it before moving around the table to say goodbye to Jake and Ezekiel. 

Eve took the opportunity to wrap her own arms around Flynn, a move which he instantly reciprocated. "Please, _please_ be careful," she reiterated. Flynn nodded and pressed a quick kiss to her hair. 

 

Jenkins set up the door, signalling that it was time for the boys to leave. As Jake and Ezekiel headed to the flashing blue light Eve tugged on each of their shirts and pulled them both back for a hug. "Don't fight," she instructed firmly, her head sandwiched between both of theirs. "Otherwise I'll have to listen to Flynn moaning about you for days." They both laughed as she released them from her grip. As Flynn opened the door to allow both boys through, Eve called him back. "Hey Librarian..." she said. He turned to meet her gaze and knew exactly what she was about to say. 

"I always do, don't I?" he smiled before disappearing behind the glowing double doors.


	2. The Mission

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the boys head off to face the Sirens, Jenkins, Eve and Cassandra must help them as best they can, only able to listen as events play out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly shorter but I think the next part might need to be on it's own. Basically I've split one chapter into two. I hope you like it:)

Ten minutes later the radio receiver began to crackle and Jenkins, Eve and Cassandra all gathered around the desk, their eyes all focused upon the little black box. "Mr Carsen," Jenkins spoke. "I take it you're there."

"Yes," came Flynn's voice from the other end. "We've just left the port."

"No problems there?"

"No, none. This is actually a pretty nice place, I mean I know the weather is a little misleading right now but-"

"Flynn, focus," Eve reminded him. 

"Eve! Hey."

"Hi." She found herself smiling at his voice, knowing his eyes were probably all lit up, his lips forming a beaming smile despite the danger he would soon face. It was an adventure and she knew how much he loved them. "Are you okay?"

"We've just got here, we're fine. Give us a little time to get in trouble," he teased.

"Yeah well trouble seems to find you anywhere Librarian," she retorted. "If you're talking to us, who's steering?"

"Me," Jake's muffled voice came from somewhere further away. "We decided that would be best, until we get closer, then Flynn will take over."

" _We_  did not decide," argued Ezekiel, apparently nearby Jake. "You two decided, I'm just hanging around like a spare part. You know what Colonel Baird, I think you were right, being bait is not good."

Eve gave a hearty laugh. "You're saying I'm right Jones? All that sea air must be getting to you already."

"Anyway," said Jake, "if you weren't looking for valuable cargo the minute we got on here you might have had a say in it."

"Come on mate, this is a ship. Like a real deal ship. Like in all those pirate stories you read."

"They're not just pirate stories!" Jake muttered through gritted teeth. 

"Jones," called Flynn, "can you not make him mad? He is controlling this thing."

"Mm, speaking of which, you'll need to head slightly North West in- what are you doing?" Jenkins had turned to face Cassandra who was failing her arms about in front of him. 

"Sorry," she said meekly. "I wanted to talk. Ezekiel I'm sending you the photos of the GPS thingy we have, just in case you can't hear us."

"Oh, cheers mate. Hey my phone is actually working here." 

"GPS thingy?" Jenkins repeated, still staring at Cassandra.

"Well I dunno, I've never seen one of these before."

"Of course you haven't. I made it," he said with an air of pride.

"Oh. Cool," she smiled. 

 

The next hour continued like that, all of them dipping in to the conversation. Eventually talk turned more serious as the boys approached their destination. "This...is...weird," Ezekiel said quietly. 

"What? What is it?" Eve asked, her concern growing even more. 

"It's all like...dark and gloomy all of a sudden. There are so many rocks and cliff edges just hangin’ over, you can barely see the sky," Jake informed them.

"It's weird," Ezekiel repeated. 

"Flynn," Jake called out. Flynn!"

A murmured ‘hmm’ from the radio suggested Jake had caught Flynn's attention. 

"Wheel," he said. 

"Oh, yeah, right," Flynn replied, apparently snapping out from his haze. There was more crackling and muffled sounds as the radio was passed between them, then Jake's voice was louder and slightly clearer as Flynn's fell into the background. 

"Guys, this is like somethin' out of a movie. It’s eerie. I think there's even fog ahead."

"I don't like this," said Eve in a low voice.

"Weird, weird, weird," Ezekiel muttered in the background. 

"Do you two feel warmer?" Flynn asked the other boys. 

"Yeah."

"Yep."

"I _really_  don't like this," Eve repeated.

"Me either," voiced Cassandra from by her side. "But it means you're getting closer." Eve looked fondly across at the redhead, she was clearly worried too but her logical mind was still holding the reigns. 

"Wait, do you hear that?" Flynn suddenly asked.

"You do realise we're in the same place as you? We can hear the same things, we can feel the same things," Ezekiel directed to Flynn. 

"Not now," Flynn hissed after shushing him. 

"I think you guys need to put your plan into action. Now," Eve told them. 

"You're very very close," Jenkins added. "There's a huge surge in magical activity."

"No, no, we can't do anything yet," Flynn said in a near whisper. "If they hear us before they see us they'll know what we're doing."

"Okay," agreed Jenkins, "but soon. Tread carefully."

 

The atmosphere in the Annex was now as tense and gloomy as it apparently was where the boys were. All of them were quiet, only whispering to each other when necessary. Moments later the trio in the Annex heard what had been slowly been growing louder. The voices were low but high pitched, soft and silky almost, no one could deny they were angelic. The sound travelled to their ears like soft waves falling on sand then slowly being pulled away. The words entwined with the music like a perfect lullaby, creating a hum that seemed to ripple and echo into the air, and for a while it was as though peace and serenity had taken over the whole world.

"I don't get it," whispered Cassandra to Eve.

Baird shrugged. "Me either. But I guess that's the point." Jenkins seemed to be attune to their conversation and Eve suddenly frowned at him, perplexed. "Wait, is this going to affect you if you can hear it?"

Jenkins shook his head. "I'm not really the same as all of you," he answered, only leaving Eve in more confusion. "But for some reason the song's power doesn't have the same effect through the radio. Possibly because it's not being heard first hand, or maybe they're just not digital." He grinned, apparently very amused with his little joke. 

Eve turned her attention back to the radio. "Guys? How ya doing?"

It was a couple of seconds before Flynn responded. "Uh okay I think. We're just about t-" 

"Flynn?" 

"Woah," Ezekiel breathed.

"Wow," they heard Jake say.

"Stone, go," Flynn said in a low voice. 

"Hmm? What? Oh." Then came a few strums, first a little broken, then with more confidence. It didn't last however. As soon as Stone began playing the lyre the voices became louder. Stone continued but the voices grew louder still and both Eve and Cassandra swore they could've heard a mocking laugh. They looked at one another in concern before turning back to the receiver. 

"Are you guys okay?" Cassandra asked. "Jacob?" There was no reply. The radio started crackling again.

"Stone? Flynn?" panicked Eve. There was silence except for the Sirens' song. 

A moment later Flynn whispered, "Eve?" 

"Flynn! What's happening? Are you okay? Why isn't Jake playing?"

"Eve."

There was something in the way he spoke that concerned Eve more than she already was. He was distant, he was talking to them but as though he wasn't really aware that they were responding.  "Yes Flynn it's me," she replied. "Are you okay? Are you all okay?" They'd all been speaking quietly anyway but more crackling made it especially difficult to hear. Now it grew even louder, more distracting. 

"No. Eve," Flynn suddenly exclaimed, as though he'd regained whatever consciousness he'd lost. "Stone!" There were footsteps and running, then muffled shouting. Flynn gave a loud cry then there was a heavy thud.

 

"Flynn?! FLYNN!" Eve shouted as the radio signal fell silent. A second later the flashing dot on Jenkins' monitor disappeared. "Jenkins?! Jenkins, what's happening, where are they?!"

"I don't- I don't know," the caretaker cried, hastily pressing buttons and trying to reconfigure the receiver. "I thought the connection might drop but we should still be able to see where they are."

"Well then why can't we?" 

"I don't know Colonel!" he exclaimed to a slightly taken aback Eve. "I'm sorry," he sighed, "I think the combination of the usual problems plus the magic might have caused the tracker to fail. I assume their radio is damaged."

"So there's nothing we can do? We just have to wait for them to contact us?" Cassandra asked from behind them, her face full of concern.

"I'm afraid so," Jenkins replied.

"How are they even going to do that?" she added.

"I cannot believe this is happening!" cried Eve. "I told them to let me go! I shouldn't have let them go alone. God, this is so stupid!" She slammed her fist on the desk before letting her head drop into her hands. She sighed heavily, her eyes still closed, then shook her head as she walked out of the room.


	3. The Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eve, Cassandra and Jenkins wait nervously while trying to find a way to bring the boys home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was supposed to upload this a couple of days ago but life. I hope you like it. Ps. This originally started out as an Evlynn-based story because...well that's pretty much all I write, but also because I wanted to get inside Eve's head which is why this mostly plays out from her POV and that of those who stayed behind at the Annex. (I hope that makes sense).

Jenkins waited a few moments before exiting the room, turning down the corridor and arriving at his own study. He knew she'd be there. They'd started out as short visits, her just dropping by to complain about Librarians or to ask him for advice, then the talks became more frequent, sometimes longer until eventually she'd just hang around, needing space, and he'd let her. As expected, when he opened the door he saw Eve sitting on one of the stools around his desk. The room wasn't very big but her hunched form looking so solemn, even from behind, was so rare an image that it made everything else fade into the background, making the room look smaller and irrelevant.

"I need him to come back. I need all of them to come back," she said, sensing his presence.

"They will."

She turned around to face him, her eyes were red, her cheeks puffy. "You don't know that! They're so vulnerable right now and we have no idea where there are or how they are, or if they're even alive!" 

"No, but they're not amateurs," he said, sitting down next to her. "They're all smart and they've faced situations like this before."

"Dangerous situations, yeah, but nothing like this! They're actual, literal bait right now. I don't even know why I agreed to this, it was a stupid idea and I knew it! I knew in my gut it wasn't right and I still let them go!"

"You didn't let them do anything, they went of their own accord. They knew the dangers and they're out there doing exactly what they're good at - don't ever tell them I said that, by the way. They're Librarians and they're here for a reason, they know what they're doing and we have to trust that."

"But they're not just Librarians, they're my family! They're your family too, don't pretend you're not a little bit worried right now." She gave a tired sigh of relent and turned away from him. "I can't lose them," she whispered. "I'm finally settled in one place, with my own family...and I have Flynn."

She squeezed her eyes shut tight at the mention of his name before resting her head against Jenkins' shoulder. "I can't lose him. I've come too close to that before and it was bad enough then, and I'd barely known him a week. I can't do this without him, any of it. I- I can't." Jenkins' own heart weighed down heavily by the fear and sincerity in her voice. He'd never admit it but he had a soft spot for the Colonel. She was tough as the boots she wore, incredibly smart and brilliant at what she did, but she had a heart, one she protected just like he did. She'd seen things no one else could imagine, just like he had, and she understood the frustration of the Librarians better than anyone, she had to deal with four at once, it was more than admirable. Right now he could see the guilt of a Guardian who felt like a failure, but more than that he saw the pain of a woman who was wracked with worry about her family. Before he knew what he was doing, he slipped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a small squeeze, letting her burrow into him as a new well of tears ran down her cheeks. 

* * *

Eve watched Jenkins hover around the radio receiver and navigation system once they'd returned to the main room of the Annex. He'd let her cry it out then had left her alone while she composed herself. She felt stupid about the whole thing but though she'd never admit it outright, she felt a little better. Even Colonel Eve Baird needed a good cry now and again. 

She brought her legs up on the couch she was sitting on, dropping her head ever so slightly so her curls covered her face, ensuring that the others couldn't see the fresh tears that were forming at the corners of her eyes as she replayed the events in her head. She was trying so hard to think positively but the truth was she'd seen so much, seen too many bad things happen to the people she cared about that sometimes she didn't know if she had the strength to keep thinking it would all be okay. 

"I made tea," Cassandra said quietly as she too came back into the room, pulling Eve from her thoughts. "I hope it's okay," she smiled at Jenkins as she laid one of his favourite teacups next to him. 

"Thank you Miss Cillian," he gave a rare smile, "I'm sure it's just fine."

Now Eve knew he was worried. He never took tea from anyone else and now he was saying someone else's would be good enough. "Thanks," she too smiled as Cassandra passed her the steaming drink in the mug Flynn had once gifted to her. Eve hoped no one else noticed how tightly she had her hands cupped around it, memories of her and Flynn flooding her and threatening to ruin her composure. 

"Any luck?" Cassandra asked, hovering by the edge of the desk.

Jenkins shook his head. "No. I've even configured the prototype of the radio that was originally connected to theirs to see if it could pick up any signals from around the Triangle, but nothing. The tracker must be completely damaged." He gave Eve only a quick look as he spoke, unable to look her in the eye. "That's not necessarily a bad thing," he added, "anything could have happened to their radio."

"I tried Ezekiel's phone again. Nothing," Cassandra said, looking over at Eve somewhat apologetically. "Probably just lost signal." She was clearly trying to console herself as much as Eve. 

 

"It's a lot to get used to isn't it?" the redhead said a moment later, sitting down next to Eve. "The whole not being alone thing."

"Yeah," Eve replied, giving her a small smile. 

"They're gonna be okay. Flynn's gonna be okay," Cassandra reassured her.

"If anything happens to any of them," Eve began, her voice cracking. 

Cassandra placed a hand on her arm. "It won't," she said firmly. "Eve, you taught us that sometimes you just lose. But this isn't one of those times."

Eve simply smiled at her. "You know I really admire you. After everything you've been through you still have...faith. You have so much life in you, so much strength. You're always hopeful."

"Well before all this I thought I was just going to die, alone. I thought that was it. But now I know that no matter how dark things get, there's always something to be happy about, you have to find something to be happy about. Sometimes it's there even if you don't know it. You have to hold onto that and ignore the darkness. That's what I do now. This place is more than I could've ever dreamed of, it saved me, and having you guys makes everything so much better."

"But scarier."

"But _better_ ," Cassandra repeated.

Eve sighed but gave her another smile, knowing she was right. "But better," she agreed. "Thanks Red." Cassandra smiled in return then stood up to join Jenkins. 

 

Eve watched them while she drank her tea. Cassandra was right. Jenkins was right. She knew they'd be okay. She had to believe that. There was still a huge sinking feeling in her stomach but thinking about worst case scenarios wasn't going to help.No, there was no way she was just going to sit back and prepare for the worst, there was no way she was giving up on her boys that easily.  _There's always another way_ , she heard Flynn's voice in her head.

"What can I do?" she asked, suddenly standing up with determination, looking like gale-force winds wouldn't be able to knock her down. 

* * *

For what felt like the longest two hours of her life Eve continued to help Jenkins figure out a way to at least regain contact with Flynn and the others, repeatedly running in and out of the main Library with more books while Cassandra made more drinks and tried to determine if certain weather patterns might influence the path the trio would take to return home. Just when it seemed as though they'd exhausted all options, and Eve was ready to run to the gym to lay her hands on the nearest punching bag, the back door flung open and Ezekiel, Jake and Flynn stumbled through it. 


	4. The Explanation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys return home and explain what exactly happened on their little outing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the 10% that wasn't completely finished. Between my shipathon fics and another random one I got a bit lost with this. But the last part is done so you shouldn't have to wait too long. Let me know what you think, I hope you like it :)

"Oh my god!" Cassandra was the first to speak after the boys' dramatic entrance. Flynn and Jake were holding up Ezekiel but all three of them looked worse for wear, and Flynn seemed to be soaked from head to toe. 

"Take him, take him," Flynn panted, gesturing to Ezekiel. Jenkins was the first to move, taking over from Flynn and Jake and walking Ezekiel over to the couch where he laid him down, the young Librarian wincing as he stretched out. Cassandra hovered by Jake who had limped over to the desk and was gripping it tight as he coughed violently. She rubbed his back through his attack as a frown etched itself between her brows, her eyes flitting between all three men. 

Flynn meanwhile stood on the same spot and scanned the room for Eve who'd been sitting at the bottom of the staircase wringing her hands with worry but had immediately stood up when the back door opened. When his eyes finally fell upon her she seemed to find the strength to move from the spot she'd been frozen in. Had she not spent the last few hours completely terrified about losing them all, about losing Flynn, she'd probably have cared that the others were there to witness their following interaction. Removing her hand from the gun at her hip that she’d reflexively reached for, she walked rapidly over to Flynn then flung her arms around him and buried her head into his neck.

"You're so stupid! Why didn't you let me come with you?! I should've gone with you!" she mumbled as tears ran down her cheeks once more. 

Flynn winced as she fell against him but tried not to let it show. "Hey, I came back alive didn't I? Doesn't that get me points?" he replied, wrapping his own arms around her, relief washing over him as he held her again. 

"You lost a lot because you scared the hell out of me," she sniffed.

"Sorry about that," he murmured before kissing the top of her head which only made her cry more.

 

"What happened to you guys?" Cassandra asked from across the room a few moments later. 

Flynn pulled away from Eve enough to answer, though he didn't loosen his hold on her waist, nor did she move from his embrace. "Well," Flynn said, clearly about to begin a long tale. "We hit a glitch."

"Obviously," Eve replied with a sniff, gesturing to the three boys, her cheeks damp with tears. 

"Well it _was_  going fine, but they realised pretty quickly what we were trying to do and started attacking us. At first a couple of them - one just disappeared pretty instantly, I don't know how - were just throwing rocks and cliff debris at us, but then it was like they were extending their arms, really really far, like they were made of elastic or something, and they weren't even human limbs by that point, they were like green and scaly and had claws." As he spoke, Eve noticed the multiple cuts in his clothes and on the side of his face. "That's how they took the lyre away, but then once there was no music, they got to Jake," he looked solemnly at the other man. "I was trying to get him to snap out of it and he fought back, trying to push me away to get to them. That's when he knocked the receiver out of my hands. It hit the side of the deck before it fell into the water. Sorry Jenkins."

"No matter," the caretaker raised a hand, "so long as you're all okay." He turned to Cassandra, "Miss Cillian," he called, "if you could just stay by Mr Jones' side while I tend to Mr Stone's wounds."

"Oh, sure. No problem," she gave Jake a small smile before dashing across to sit by Ezekiel. "So then what happened?" she looked back at Flynn, eyes wide with curiosity. 

"Then _he_  almost threw himself overboard," Jake cut in, nodding to Ezekiel, wincing as Jenkins dabbed at one of his wounds. "I'm fine Jenkins, honestly. It ain't that bad," he tried he swat away the caretaker’s hands, hating feeling like an invalid. 

"With all due respect Mr Stone, the blood oozing over your eyebrow and down your arm says otherwise." He continued to patch up the art historian who seemed to have no energy left to argue.

Cassandra shot her head round to a still dazed Ezekiel. "You almost fell?!" He groaned and wafted a hand in the air in response, apparently quite unconcerned about his near misfortune.

"Yeah," Flynn continued, "he uh, he got a little caught up in them and tried to get closer, forgetting about the raging sea separating him from them."

"We had to hold him back, keep him away," Jake added. 

"But how did you two manage to snap out of it so fast?" Eve questioned. 

Jake and Flynn exchanged a look. "He slapped me," grunted Jake, giving Flynn a small glare. Flynn merely shrugged at Eve in response, as if to say 'what else was I supposed to do?

"But surely that wouldn't have lasted long?" she continued. "I mean these women, creatures, whatever, they've been around for centuries hauling men off their ships, hypnotising them, you're telling me a slap across the face is all it took to stop that?"

"Oh, right," Flynn seemed to be gearing up for another story. "Well you know we were telling you about Orpheus and the lyre?” he asked, arm still curled around her waist, their hips brushing together. Eve nodded in response. "Well Odysseus, you know him? He wanted to hear exactly what the Sirens were singing so he got his men to tie him to the ship and not release him under any circumstances. Then he got _them_  to put beeswax in their ears so it blocked out the song. That's what I did," he finally explained. "I mean thinking back, maybe I should've started off with th-"

"Hold on. You just happened to have beeswax on you?" Eve asked, incredulously.

"Yeah it was a free gift when I got my moisturiser," he shrugged as though it was the most obvious of explanations as Eve stared at him in disbelief. 

"I didn't know you moisturise," piped up Cassandra who was still heavily intrigued by the story. 

"Yeah, when I used to go on digs or missions in really hot places, my skin would just get so dry and damaged and I had a sample moisturiser in a hotel I was staying at once and I used that and it was amazing," he told her. Jake raised an eyebrow at Eve who merely shook her head in a 'don't ask' manner. 

"Really?" Cassandra replied to Flynn with enthusiasm. "Because you know I'm the same and I burn really ea-"

"Okay! Would you two mind exchanging make up tips later?" Eve cut in. "None of this explains why you're soaked to your skin," she directed at Flynn. "If you stopped Jones from jumping in shouldn't you all be dry?"

"Yeah Flynn, tell 'um what happened," Jake grinned, and even Ezekiel seemed to muster a snigger.

Flynn face fell as though he was a child who'd been caught opening presents before Christmas Day. "Uh, well, I um- what happened is uh," he spluttered, "well we made it back to port but the door Jenkins set for us was gone, must have been offset by all the magic from the Sirens, so we had no way to get back. But there was a holiday resort nearby and that was where the next nearest door was. Ezekiel's phone was still working so we used his app to set the back door - Bermuda is a really nice by the way, we should go back one day," he added to Eve.

"And?" Jake goaded him, still smiling from ear to ear while Flynn glared at him.

Flynn sighed before continuing his story. "To get to the door we had to pass a pool where there were lots of kids, loads of them had those long floaties, what are they called?"

"Uh, pool noodles?" Eve guessed.

"Yeah those. Anyway, one kid had hers just lying around dangerously in the middle of the walkway...and I might have tripped over it and fallen headfirst into the pool."

Eve stared at him in disbelief and a small grin appeared on her face. "You went to one of the most dangerous places in the world and fought creatures most people have only read about in books, and came out of it alive, but you were taken down by a kid in a pool?" she laughed softly. Flynn simply shrugged in response, putting on the adorable expression he always wore when he was being a dork and knew it. Eve simply laugh again and leaned her forehead against his chest, a move he didn't protest against. Her Librarian, she thought, so damn smart but the biggest dork she knew, and she wouldn't have it any other way. 

"She was a really mean kid you know," Flynn added, slipping both arms around Eve's waist. 

"Flynn you have got to stop getting into arguments with little kids," she said, looking up at him once more. 

"It was her fault!" he cried defensively. "And then she blew a raspberry at me! I'm seriously very concerned for our nation's youth!" 

Resting her head on his chest again (ignoring the damp against her cheek), Eve wrapped her own arms around his waist and whispered, "You’re an idiot."

"Ah, but I'm your idiot," he murmured in reply, leaving her grinning like a Cheshire cat.

 

"Hate to disturb Cinders and Prince Charming over there, but does anyone care that I feel like I've been kicked in the stomach by a horse?" Ezekiel groaned, finally finding his words.

"Hey! You're talking!" Cassandra smiled, placing a kind hand on the legs that were stretched out next to her.

"Someone had to do something about that," he nodded to Flynn and Eve, wincing and apparently instantly regretting the move.  Eve was immediately at his side, tugging his shirt up to take a look at his injuries. "Oi! Hey!" he tried smacking her hand away, without success given his dazed state.

"I need to see how badly injured you are, check to see if you have bruises or anything," Eve tried to explain.

"I feel that I do, can't you just take that as confirmation? Anyway, isn't he the one you're supposed to be undressing?" he managed to grin as he motioned to Flynn. In response Eve poked a blue mark that was forming on his abdomen. "Agh!" he shouted out.

"Yep! Definitely bruised," she smiled sweetly at him.

"Aren't you the one who's supposed to take _care_  of us?" he glared at her. 

"Uh actually that is my job," Jenkins interrupted, strolling over to them, a dark bottle and two glasses in hand. "Now if you don't mind Colonel, I have a lot of fixing up to do here," he said, pouring the liquid from the bottle into a glass and handing it to Ezekiel. 

The young Librarian looked at it in horror. It was a sticky brown colour and appeared to be bubbling. "There is no way I'm drinking that," he said firmly. 

"Very well," Jenkins replied with a small smile, "if you prefer the Sirens' magic, however little of it you were consumed by, to infiltrate your whole body and slowly drain it, leaving you gasping for air in around forty eight hours, that is fine."

Ezekiel furrowed his eyebrows in terror then scrunched up his face as he reluctantly took the liquid and downed it. "Eugh. Tastes like tobacco and black liquorice."

"I guess I'll just see to Jacob then," Eve said quietly, feeling slightly redundant.

"No no. We'll be fine. Miss Cillian and I are quite capable of managing these two. Isn't that right?" he turned to Cassandra.

"Hm? Oh! Yeah sure. We're good," she smiled.

"See?" he looked back at Eve. "You have another Librarian who needs you, one who should probably change out of those wet clothes lest he get sick." He smiled at her sincerely, giving her a knowing look with kind eyes. "Go," he instructed softly. 

Eve knew he probably could have found her a job to do but the way he was looking at her told her he was still seeing the distraught woman who'd been crying on his shoulder hours earlier. "Okay," she whispered, giving him a small nod. 

"Good. Now Miss Cillian if you could take this over to Mr Stone," he handed the other woman the bottle and second glass. 

"Uh uh, no. Ain't no way I'm drinking that!" Stone shook his head. 

"Sorry," Cassandra winced as she poured him a glass. "Pretend it's coke?" Jake glanced at her, unamused. "With whiskey?" she added. 

Jake braced himself before reluctantly gulping down the whole thing, then frowned. "It dun't even taste that bad. What's he talkin' about?"

"Ah yes well," Jenkins spoke. "I might have added a little something to Mr Jones' glass."

"You spiked his drink?" Cassandra squeaked.

"Mild sedative," Jenkins wafted his hand in the air, "it'll be much better if he sleeps through the worst of things."

 

Eve sighed and looked around at the four of them, guilt already weighing on her. She'd let them go alone, unprotected, and now she was leaving them. As if having read her mind, Jake looked up at her and said, "Don't worry, we'll be fine. Stop feelin' bad. I'm only gonna take a shower and sleep it off, he's out of it," he nodded to Ezekiel who was now fast asleep. "Go home."

Eve nodded again and turned back to Flynn who was stood silently, just waiting for her, a small smile on his face when their eyes met. She walked back over to him and slipped a hand into his, entwining their fingers. "You have stuff at my place right?" she asked as they turned to the back door.

"A few things I think," he replied. With another nod, Eve set the co-ordinates for her apartment and took one last look around the Annex before she and Flynn stepped through the doors, hand in hand.  


	5. The Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As Flynn and Eve process the day's events, both have some truths to reveal to one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically just fluff. Like FLUFF fluff. Some of the stuff Eve says is the reason for the whole fic so for me personally this was a really important part. Also I adore fluff. Did I mention that? (New bit added to satisfy the curiosity of Wandering_Moonchild haha. I hope it suffices). Anyway I hope you like it :)

"So what was this pirate job about?" Eve called to Flynn as she pottered about the bedroom.

"There were pirates, they had treasure, I had to get it," came his vague reply from the bathroom.

"That is not an answer," she frowned. "What pirates?"

"Bad ones. Like the movies."

"What treasure?"

"Staff stolen from the Incas. Very important to their culture, caused havoc on their land and peoples when it was taken. It was linked to the sun god Inti. Had to go sail to an island a little way from Antigua, turns out those bad pirates are still hanging around there."

"None of this is making me feel any better," she confessed. 

Flynn chuckled to himself as he rubbed a towel against his wet hair. "I wouldn't expect anything less," he called back to her.

* * *

"Don't get dressed yet," Eve told Flynn as they passed each other by the bathroom door. "I wanna check your all your injuries."

"They're fine," he insisted. "I'm fine."

"I'll be two minutes," she added, ignoring his protests. Flynn laughed to himself and shook his head, she was always worrying.

 

Sure enough, a few minutes later she returned to the bedroom wearing pyjama shorts and a matching cami, the ends of her hair slightly damp. Flynn was sat in the middle of her bed dressed only in his boxers, and Eve's heart ached as she glazed over the red lines and purple bruises all over his body. 

"How come you shower so fast?" he asked when he saw her. 

"Water tends not to stay warm too long when you're in the camp in the Middle East," she replied and he nodded in understanding. "How you feeling?"

"Better now I've showered. Stung like hell when the water hit me though." Eve took the clip out of her hair and shook it, leaving the clip on the nightstand before crawling onto the bed to join Flynn. "You wanna know a secret?" he asked as she checked over his wounds, despite his repeated declaration that he was okay.

"Is it a good one?" she inquired.

"Oh it's really good," he promised.

"Then continue."

"Even though you had to stay here, you still saved me today."

She was behind him now checking his back, but peered round over his shoulder to meet his gaze. "I did?"

"Yeah. When we got closer to the Sirens I could hear them but um all I could see was...was you."

"What?" Intrigued, she shuffled to his side and settled down next to him. 

"Well you know, Sirens are supposed to be beautiful, irresistible women, often they're supposed to embody your greatest desire, and uh, yeah," he coughed nervously. "So- so when I saw you and I knew you were here I was confused but it made it realise that was happening. So I snapped out of it and tried to help Stone and Ezekiel. When I remembered I had the wax I used that and hoped for the best but as soon as the Sirens realised what I was doing they started attacking me. Well, two did, one sort of dissolved as soon as I ignored her, I assumed there was one for each of us. It's a good job she didn't look like you when that happened, that would've made me lose it and then where would we b-"

He was cut off by Eve simply leaning forward and kissing him. It was soft and tender and felt like she was giving him her whole heart. They'd had unexpected kisses before, many times, but this was different, it wasn't as though she wanted control in any way (or to shut him up). So as Flynn melted into her he took the opportunity to bring his hand up to her cheek and cup it, softly brushing her jawline. The move secured their embrace and they were able to get lost in each other, their lips gliding over each other as though they were exploring each other for the first time. When they finally broke apart Flynn kept his hand on Eve's cheek and rested his forehead against hers. 

 

"I'm your greatest desire?" Eve asked breathlessly. 

"I can't believe you're even asking," came Flynn's husky reply. 

Eve gave a soft laugh. "Only you could turn almost being killed by Sirens into a romantic gesture."

"Well you know, glass half full and all that." Flynn pulled away from her and shuffled back until he was leaning against the pillows. "Come here," he held his arm out to her. She immediately cuddled up next to him, loving the feel of his arm wrapped protectively around her. "I really am sorry for scaring you," he murmured, taking her free hand and lacing his fingers with hers. 

"It's okay," she whispered back. "It did make me realise that uh- well just how much I um..." she gazed up at him, a sparkle in her eyes, mixed with what Flynn thought was nervousness. He smiled at her when she paused, not wanting to push her while she built up the courage to open up to him. "...how much I love you. I do, Flynn. I love you."

With his eyes now lit up he continued to stare at her, then a small grin made its way onto his face. "It took you this long to realise?"

"Oh my god," she said a little more loudly, letting go of his hand.

"I'm just saying, I realised a long time ago-"

"I just poured my heart out to you and all you can say is-" Eve stopped talking when Flynn cupped her cheek again and brought her closer to him. "Kidding," he whispered reassuringly. "I love you too."

"You do?" she asked, as though the way he was looking at her wasn't enough of an answer. 

"So much," he said honestly. 

She smiled at him dizzily for a moment until she saw him lean in further and her eyes closed automatically. She felt his lips capture hers, fitting between them perfectly, the sensation making her head fuzzy the way it always did. It was just as she was returning the kiss that she finally caught on to one particular part of his declaration.

"Wait," she mumbled against his lips.

"Mmm?" Flynn was already intoxicated by her touch.

"You knew before? How long ago did you know how you felt about me?"

Reluctantly he pulled away, enough that they could converse. "Since the thing with the dragons," he shrugged.

"Which time?" she asked, suddenly realising how often they faced the creatures. 

"Apple of Discord," Flynn chuckled.

Eve stared at him bewildered. "Since the Apple?! But that was so long ago."

"Well I mean I didn't _know_  know, I knew for sure once we finally got to spend real time together, you know, when these guys were in Peru. But yeah, back then I already knew I was falling."

"But how?"

"Because you told me to go find the Library _and_  after you agreed to stay. No one's ever said that before, it's always been me that's stuck around. I knew then that you were different, that we'd work. Sorry, that sounds kinda cheesy doesn't it."

"No. It sounds right," Eve said before giving him a small smile. "Hey, if I'm gonna do this whole loving you thing you're gonna have to stop throwing yourself into danger so much, otherwise I'll have a heart attack before our first anniversary."

"Oh yeah?" he replied with a grin, "I will if you will." 

"Deal," she answered, knowing neither of them could keep that promise but appreciating the sentiment. It wasn't necessarily honest but it was a gesture, an unspoken declaration that they were in it together. 

 

Eve slipped her arms around Flynn's neck and pulled him in for a hug, finding comfort in his familiar scent and the arms that were curled around her own waist. "You know," Flynn's voice in her ear was low and gravelly, "when the Siren was you, she- well, _you_  were in a very nice dress, it was like long and flowy but really fitting too."

"See, all I'm hearing is you need to buy me a new dress," Eve retorted with a grin. She pulled back and settled herself against Flynn's shoulder, and Flynn watched as she traced her finger over his chest and stomach, her feather light touch passing over his cuts and bruises. Her concentration not wavering, she circled the fairly large gash below his collarbone then leaned in and pressed a kiss to it. "You know, you should have someone keep an eye on these, I mean they could get worse at any moment, and did you hit your head? I feel like you said you did, so you should definitely not be alone if that's the case." She was rambling now, she only did that if she was scared or nervous.

"Eve," Flynn said softly, placing a hand over hers. She looked up at him, her blue eyes seemed to glow more than usual. He smiled reassuringly. "Is this your way of asking me to stay over?" 

"Depends," she whispered, "is this your way of saying yes?" 

He already had her in his arms but had somehow gotten her almost flat on the bed. "It's my way of saying absolutely," he hovered over her as he spoke, their noses brushing together as the heat rose between them. With one hand on her hip, thumb stroking it lightly, he pressed a kiss to the side of her neck causing Eve to take a sharp breath in.

"We should probably not do this tonight," she said breathlessly as she tried to ignore the sensations already flowing through her. "I mean, too much movement could open your wounds, especially that one near your hip."

"I'm willing to take that risk," he rasped, momentarily raising his head from her chest where he'd been leaving hot kisses. He hadn't realised just how much he needed her, not just physically but emotionally, especially emotionally. It was as though Eve was a part of him that he never knew existed but now he did, he wasn't quite sure how he'd survived all these years. She was in every breath that he took, in every beat of his heart, and every breath that he took, every beat of his heart screamed how much he loved her. 

Eve tried to be sensible and listen to the voice telling her that Flynn needed rest but there was another part of her that was shouting about how he needed _her_ too, granted that might have been influenced by the hand that had slipped under her top and was now delicately grazing the spot just below her bra. Nevertheless, Eve decided to push sensibility aside for once and just be grateful that the two of them were together, finally being able to show each other how they felt. "Oh. Okay," she breathed before curling her arms around him, her hands exploring his back, helped by the fact that he was now settled over her. She ran a hand through his hair and directed him back to her neck where his lips against her skin set off sparks in her stomach. Maybe she needed him more than she'd realised. His body pressed against hers felt so right she wasn't sure how she was so dependent on someone all of a sudden. 

 

Trying to push back the tears that were on the verge of falling down her cheeks, she held him closer still. "Thank you for coming home to me," she whispered into his ear. 

There was a pang in Flynn's heart at her words and he pulled away slightly so he could look her in the eyes. He kissed her lids, wiping away the tears. "Where else would I be?" he murmured before capturing her lips between his own with a gentle force that pushed her into the pillows and made her give a little sigh. His hand had stopped caressing her body, one still holding her head, brushing the line where her hair met her neck, the other coming up to cup her cheek as he kissed her again. It was as though all his focus was on kissing her, nothing else, as though he was filling her with promises every time his lips glided over hers, and as though his tongue lightly grazing hers as he explored her mouth allowed him to find everything he'd ever wanted. 

"I thought I'd lost you," Eve's voice cracked as her emotions took over. 

Flynn pulled his attention away from her soft lips. "I'm here," he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "I'm here, I'm still here," he reassured her, kissing her nose. "I'm not going anywhere," her murmured against her forehead. "Okay?" Eve nodded in response, sliding her hands down his back and under the waistline of his boxers, signalling that she was ready for them to spend the rest of the night as close to each other as possible. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anything and everything is appreciated :) x

**Author's Note:**

> Anything and everything is appreciated :) Thanks for reading.


End file.
